


A Place In the Sun (Sylvix Week 2019)

by Kabieee



Series: Sylvix Week 2019! [1]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Childhood Friends, Childhood Trauma, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-13
Updated: 2019-10-13
Packaged: 2020-12-14 14:16:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21017138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kabieee/pseuds/Kabieee
Summary: Sylvain makes a promise to Felix after his friend rescues him from the torture of Miklan.





	A Place In the Sun (Sylvix Week 2019)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Natendo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Natendo/gifts).

> Happy Sylvix Week 2019! This is the super emo fic I promised @Natendo <3 It just so happens the prompt is childhood/promise so it's perfect! I think this fic is best read with A Place in the Sun from the Xenoblade Chronicles 2 OST playing on repeat, as it's the inspiration for this fic and where I got the title. I hope you enjoy!

“You’ll never find me!”

Sylvain rolled his eyes with a smile when the blatant giveaway was followed by a fit of giggles. He crept along the empty hallway, slipping into the room where his friend was hiding. The laughing could be heard beside the grand armoire.

“Y’know, if you _didn’t _want me to find you, you wouldn’t tell me where you were…” He pointed out to Felix, who pouted when he was discovered.

“But Glenn told me this was the very best place to hide!” The younger boy took his friend’s hand and was pulled up to stand.

“That’s because Glenn wants you to _lose_,” Sylvain laughed. He turned to lead the way out of the room.

“One day, I’ll beat him! He won’t know what hit him!” Felix pretended to brandish a sword at Sylvain, a triumphant, hopeful grin on his face.

“We should start practicing now then! Let’s go outside and play!” The redhead motioned towards the north side of the manor, where they’d find a small fenced yard with lots of wooden swords to spar with. He even thought about letting Felix win.

With three years and nearly a foot and a half on Felix, Sylvain’s longer legs brought him down the hallway quicker. He felt Felix timidly grab at the hem of his shirt to keep up. As he turned to see, Felix hastily removed his hand and twitched, expecting his friend to swat him away like his brother normally would. When Sylvain grabbed his hand with a smile, Felix happily took it and darted alongside the older boy outside.

The Gautier maids hanging up laundry outside greeted the boys happily as they bounced along the yard. They knew better than to keep more than a lazy eye on them, it’s not like Miklan and Sylvain were sparring.

“Don’t go easy on me, Sylvain!” Felix declared, eagerly taking a play sword into his hand, vibrating with excitement.

“As if I would!” Sylvain almost instantly swept Felix behind his knees and brought him to the ground. The younger boy wasn’t too quick to block hits just yet. He made up for it though in blind passion whenever he got knocked down. The younger boy bounced up like a spring, roaring with excitement.

“Come on Sylvain, I know you have better moves than that,” he chided, darting forward to attempt a smack at his friend’s side. “I told you not to go easy on me.”

For such a small boy, Felix had a lot of fight in him. He’d jut his toy sword in the direction of the least vulnerable parts of Sylvain, but did it with rigor and determination. “We need to work on you confronting the blade and not running from it,” Sylvain joked, tapping his friend’s arm gently with his wooden blade the moment his guard dropped. Felix huffed but nodded, shaking off his shoulders and facing more pointedly to the other.

They continued their spar with Sylvain able to tap Felix only one more time before he found himself backwards on the ground.

“Good job, Felix, that was so great!” Sylvain beamed up at his friend with a triumphant clench of his fists. Felix hopped into the air with glee and did a small dance, blushing when Sylvain saw it.

“I can’t believe I did it! Thank you for helping me, Sylvain,” the younger boy helped pull his friend to his feet. “I want to be a great fighter like Glenn one day. And you!”

**

“It’s time for dinner, young lords!” Felix, caught off guard by the call of one of the maids, got sent flying by Sylvain’s jab of his wooden sword.

“Oh no, Felix, are you okay?” Sylvain dropped the toy and rushed over to Felix. He squatted down and offered him a hand to help him up.

“I don’t think you hit hard enough, little brother.”

Sylvain tensed up but managed a glare in Miklan’s direction. His older brother was smirking at them, slung over the fence lazily. He watched them as though it was the single most boring thing on earth.

“Isn’t there somewhere better you should be?” Felix spat from the ground, taking Sylvain’s hand. “Go be a jerk somewhere else.”

“Felix, don’t—”

It was too late. Miklan had hopped over the fence and was striding to the center where they stood. The oldest boy shoved Sylvain aside roughly before throwing Felix to the ground, snorting when the youngest cried out in pain.

“Miklan, seriously, go _away_!” Sylvain huffed, face growing red at the resentment he felt towards his brother in that moment. He almost wished their toy blades were real so he could slice up his knees.

“You better watch your mouth when talking to someone older than you like that, Fraldarius,” Miklan said hotly. He turned his gaze to his younger brother and scoffed before shoving him too into the dirt. “I don’t even have anything to say to _you_.”

The oldest Gautier son stormed off, leaving the two boys defeated on the ground. Felix was sniffling, reaching his hand over to Sylvain instinctively. The redhead took it gently and sighed as he squeezed it.

“I’m sorry he pushed you, Felix. You didn’t deserve that.”

“Why did he push you too? Why does he always do that?”

Sylvain closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, not wanting to tell his friend that this was one of the gentler interactions he had with his brother. Felix was too little, Sylvain thought, to know or think about the fact that his older brother hurt him whenever he could. Glenn was tough on Felix and they roughhoused, but it was nothing compared to relationship between the Gautier boys.

“He’s just a jerk. This is why everyone is our friend and not his,” Sylvain forced out with a smile, looking over at Felix sadly. He noticed his friend had a cut on his face, which was now bleeding. “Oh no, we need to get you inside, c’mon…” He stood up and easily pulled Felix to his feet. He was still sniffling, so he tenderly wiped the back of his sleeve across his face.

“I don’t like that he’s mean to you…” Felix’s sniffling was bordering on crying. Sylvain sheepishly grabbed his hand and gently tugged him in the direction of the house.

“Yeah, well… me either. But I just try to ignore him. And run away whenever I see him coming,” he winked. Felix just gently cried as they walked inside, frustratingly unsatisfied with his best friend’s response.

Sylvain took Felix to the washroom to clean up the cut on his face before they went to the dining room. Their fathers would no doubt have questions about what had happened.

Felix winced when Sylvain had him hold his head over the washbasin, pouring ointment on his tender skin. “Ow!!”

“Sorry buddy, you know how it goes by now.” Sylvain dabbed it with some soft cloth, patting Felix’s hand. “That should be okay for now.”

“Thanks.”

“Hey Felix… Don’t tell our dads if they ask you what happened, okay?”

Felix stared incredulously at his friend, shaking his head. “But they hurt both of us! Miklan pushed you.”

“Yeah but, Fe…” Sylvain taped down the bandage and wiped away the little tears Felix had forming in the corners of his eyes. “It’ll only be worse if I tell my father.”

Felix huffed and jumped down from his stool in front of the basin, clenching his small fists and shooting a look at his friend. He had seen this look on Sylvain’s face before, and it only ever happened when they talked about Miklan. Sylvain always got nervous and cracked his knuckles even after he popped them. Felix wasn’t sure if any of the adults noticed.

“I’m going to beat him up when I see him hurt you again,” Felix decided.

“Felix, no, don’t engage him, he might actually really hurt you!”

Sylvain blocked Felix from leaving the washroom, his shaking hands gripping his shoulders.

“Felix… please… please don’t do or say anything. Please.” Sylvain’s face was as white as his shirt and his breath was ragged, catching in his throat. He was muttering words that Felix couldn’t comprehend, almost having a conversation with himself.

Felix nodded.

“You have to _swear to me_.”

Felix nodded again. “I swear.”

**

A storm descended upon Gautier territory as everyone ate dinner, the wind howling loudly throughout the corridors of the small castle. Rain beat against the glass window panes, making it just difficult enough that nobody in the feast hall was able to have much of a conversation. Sylvain was quietly thankful for this. Neither his father or Rodrigue were able to press him much about Felix’s cut.

As he rose to hug his parents goodnight, his younger friend shot up. He was only halfway through his dinner, which Rodrigue only halfheartedly protested. The father knew Felix was always self-conscious about how much he ate in front of others, especially when they visited the Gautiers.

“You don’t mind keeping him company, do you son?” Margrave Gautier said with a small smile, ruffling Sylvain’s hair.

“Nope! Let’s go play before bed, Fe!” Felix happily ran over to his friend as they set off for Sylvain’s room. When he heard a dramatic scoff and laugh from Miklan, he jerked his head towards the older boy and nearly hissed.

“_That’s_ not a good sign,” Miklan said to no one in particular, rolling his eyes in self-indulgence. To nobody’s surprise, the Gautier parents said nothing and acted as though their oldest son wasn’t being this way. As per usual. Felix angrily stalked away, feet stomping against the stone floor as they left.

“I hate him. I hate your brother so much, Sylvain.” His fists and teeth were clenched tightly.

Sylvain was quiet, gaze cast downward and hands in his pockets. He hoped Felix would drop this, but knew deep down he wasn’t going to. “I do too.”

Back in Sylvain’s room, they gathered themselves under a large plush blanket and read from Sylvain’s favorite book, an old tome filled with stories about knights rescuing princesses and saving the day. Felix could only roll his eyes and stick his tongue out in disgust when his older friend talked about girls. If Sylvain wanted to play with some of the young girls around the castle, it meant less time to play with Felix, so the younger boy was never fond of seeing his older friend falling all over them.

Sylvain started to yawn. He had finally settled down from the anxiety thrown at him at dinner.

“I guess I better get going! Goodnight, Sylvain.” Felix smiled at him, moving to stand up. His best friend smiled weakly at him, looking like he wanted to say something, but remained silent. Felix wrapped his little arms around Sylvain’s stomach and hugged him. He didn’t want to leave when he felt how scared the older boy seemed as he returned the embrace. “Do you want me to stay here with you? I’ll fight anyone who tries to disturb your rest!” The fire in Felix’s eyes made Sylvain chuckle.

“No, go to your own room. Goodnight, Fe.”

Felix smiled at his friend and departed for his room, which thankfully wasn’t far from Sylvain’s. The Margrave knew how close they were, so whenever the Fraldarius clan visited he always made sure a room was set up for Felix near Sylvain.

As Felix opened his door and went inside, he heard footsteps behind him in the hallway. Cautiously, he peeked through the crack and saw Miklan’s form heading his way. He tensed up and prepared for him to push his door open, but instead he continued down the hallway to Sylvain’s room.

Silently, Felix bravely followed him. He hid behind a large statue in the hall, heart pounding when Miklan barged into Sylvain’s room.

“Did you have fun with your little _friend_, brother?” Miklan loomed over Sylvain in bed.

“Miklan, please… leave me alone.” Sylvain pleaded as his hands wrung together and a sweat broke out on his forehead.

“I’m just concerned, Sylvain. You know how people talk. And as the crest bearer of the family…”

“S-shut _up_! Shut up! Shut up!”

Miklan began to pace in front of his brother’s bed, laughing lowly. He relished the anguish in which Sylvain began to thrash with beneath his blanket.

“It seems to me as though you just need to be reminded of what happens when you act a certain way, brother. We wouldn’t want your foolish behavior and desires to threaten the Gautier line, would we?” Miklan is laughing manically now, but not loud enough for it to carry through the hallways. Felix can hear him just outside the door, and his stomach did backflips with anxiety.

“Miklan, let me go. Let me go!” Felix’s breath hitches in his throat as he hears two sets of footsteps approaching the door. Thankfully it’s dark, so he was able to stay hidden behind the statue as he watched Miklan dragging Sylvain by the wrist. “Where are you taking me, let me g—”

“Keep that voice down so dear mother and father don’t hear you,” the older brother hissed, digging his nails into the palm of Sylvain’s hand. When his friend muffled a sob of pain, Felix shrieked and jumped out to confront them.

“Let him go, Miklan!” Felix darted over and shoved the older brother. When he didn’t make much of an impact, he aimed a swift kick at his groin. Miklan grunted and fell to the ground, leaving Sylvain dumbfounded. “We need to move!”

Felix grabbed Sylvain’s hand and tore them down the hallway. Sylvain was crying, stumbling to keep up with his best friend. Felix brought them near his own father’s quarters, where a light could be seen from under the door.

“No… no, Felix, we can’t go to Rodrigue—” He hiccuped and wiped his nose, clinging to Felix as though his life depended on it.

“Sylvain! You need to tell someone that he’s _hurting_ you! This isn’t okay!”

The redhead looked down at his best friend, who was breathing heavily and holding onto his hand tightly. His little frame was heaving with anger and anxiety, the apparent urge to run into his father’s room looming over them.

“No… no, no, no… I can’t. He’ll just come back. He’s probably coming for us right now. Felix—We need to hide. I think I can hear him coming!” Sylvain shot around, certain he heard footsteps. Felix worriedly peered but could not say he heard the same thing.

“Let’s hide then. Come on, Sylvain,” Felix muttered, pulling on his friend’s hand. He somewhat blindly lead them through the castle, unsure of his surroundings in the dark. Sylvain continued to cry quietly, but settled down when his friend brought him to an empty room near the back of a mostly unused wing. They nestled under the covers of the big bed in the corner of it, drawing the rich curtains of the four poster to block out everything that was happening outside of them.

“Felix…” Sylvain stared almost without seeing his friend, head weakly settled on the pillow beneath him as tears continued down his cheeks. His best friend hugged him, unsure what to do. Felix was smaller, a lot smaller than Sylvain so practically nonexistent alongside the fourteen-year-old Miklan. What could he do for his friend to protect him from his scary older brother, especially since they didn’t visit all the time? If he did meet Miklan head on, could he even do anything to stop him from hurting Sylvain?

“I’m here, Sylvain,” Felix replied numbly, holding onto Sylvain still. He’d normally be embarrassed and expect Sylvain to swat him away like Glenn would, but he knew his friend was in no state for embarrassment.

“Thank you, Fe.”

Together they slept until morning, both boy’s dreams plagued with nightmarish visions of Miklan completing his mission from the night before and hurting Sylvain. The Gautier son dreamt of Miklan’s favorite place to bring him when he felt the need to punish him: a dark corner of the woods he was sure no one would ever find him. Miklan had a horrible shed out there to lock him in, and it was scary even without a storm raging outside. When he woke up knowing Felix had saved him from that fate, he hugged the younger boy in his sleep.

It was rare that Sylvain was more vulnerable than his seven-year-old friend. The fact that the young boy was able to help him so was not surprising to him, but it still scared him knowing that Miklan could and absolutely would hurt him as well. Miklan wouldn’t bat an eye before shoving Felix into the ground or threatening him with knives he stole from the kitchen, much like he did to his own brother.

Sylvain, despite his fear and intimidation of his brother, knew he wanted to protect Felix from him, to protect him from anything that might ever harm him. Felix was the brother he wished he had; Felix was the brother he chose and loved more than anything.

The younger boy stirred awake, a smile forming on his face from a frown when he saw Sylvain wasn’t crying or suffering from a nightmare.

“Thank you for staying with me Felix,” Sylvain said sheepishly.

“I would never leave you alone,” Felix replied, smiling softly.

They rose from bed and hurried back to their rooms to change. The sun was shining brightly outside, so they wanted to go enjoy the early morning calm before getting breakfast.

The grass was still damp from the storm, but the dew was magnified with the bright sun beaming down upon Gautier land. Sylvain led him and his best friend up to his favorite hill on the outskirts of his family’s castle, searching for the perfect spot for them to take in the beauty of the morning.

“Hey Felix.”

“Hey Sylvain.”

“I want to make you a promise.”

Felix looked up at his best friend quizzically, stopping abruptly behind him. They stood at the crest of a tall hill at the base of the nearby mountains, where light blankets of snow could be seen on the tips. The sun illuminated Sylvain’s red hair and the smile on his face, which looked stronger and more confident than he had ever seen on him.

“I’m not dying without you, got it?”

Felix blushed.

“I’m not going out unless my best friend is right there with me. We’ll be together until we’re old and crusty!” He was laughing, but the words struck Felix with so much emotion he almost started crying. “We’ll always keep each other safe from jerks like Miklan.”

Felix could only nod, his hand instinctively grabbing Sylvain’s. Together they stood in the warm glow of the sun, the promise of their future together brighter than any fear the world could hope to darken it with.

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on twitter! @setethstiddies (nsfw but lots of fun!)


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